In a first-of-its-kind test, the U.S. military airlifted a five-megawatt nuclear microreactor aboard a C-17 from California to Utah, proving it can move nuclear power the same way it moves troops and equipment. The Ward 250 reactor, developed by Valar Atomics, is designed to power bases independently of fragile civilian grids and vulnerable fuel convoys.

The reactor was flown without fuel and will now undergo testing, part of a broader push to make deployable nuclear energy a national security asset. It’s an early but real step toward mobile, resilient power for a military that increasingly runs on data, advanced weapons systems, and 24/7 operations.